The New Orleans Saints caught a big break ahead of Sunday’s game with the Tennessee Titans: star Titans running back Derrick Henry is not expected to suit up against New Orleans while dealing with a hamstring injury, per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Henry’s availability in practice was limited throughout the week; after Saturday’s walkthrough practice session, the Titans downgraded his game status to questionable. Now, it appears he won’t play at all.
It’s a huge blow for Tennessee, because Henry has essentially been their entire running attack for much of the 2019 season. He’s accounted for 271 of the Titans’ combined 380 rushing attempts, and 87.1% of their rushing attempts by running backs. Backup Dion Lewis (38 carries for 134 yards) and practice squad call-up Dalyn Dawkins (2 attempts for 2 yards) are the only other Titans running backs to have gotten on the field this season.
Henry’s absence will also be felt in the passing game. While he’s only recorded 18 catches on 24 targets this season, he ranks seventh on the team in receiving yards (206), at 11.4 yards per reception. His total 1,535 yards from scrimmage leads the team, and his 15 combined touchdown scores is more than double the next-best Titans skills position player (rookie wideout A.J. Brown, who has caught seven scoring passes).
Due to the results of Saturday’s games in the NFL triple-header (in which the Houston Texans won the AFC South by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New England Patriots pushed the Buffalo Bills down to a wild card spot) today’s game has no impact on the Titans’ playoff standings. Tennessee needs the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose at least one of their next two games (either on Sunday against the New York Jets, or next week with the Baltimore Ravens) to get back into the playoff picture. The Titans do not control their own destiny anymore, and that could have factored into the decision to rest a player as important as Henry. If their season is functionally over, why risk serious injury for two essentially-meaningless regular season games?
